In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 273: Buy $5 million worth of rocket launchers and get a $2600 million sniper grenade launcher as a bonus?

"General, are you serious?"

Xie Wei looked at Abdullah with amusement.

The latter paused for a moment, then said, "Yes!"

Seeing that Xie Wei's expression remained unchanged, Abdullah nodded earnestly. Worried that Xie Wei might not understand his meaning, he added, "The complete production technology, including the formula and production process for solid fuel..."

Hey!
Xie Wei almost blurted out a curse.

That's some serious thinking.

The formula and production process of solid fuel propellants used in missiles and rockets are absolutely core technologies.

Especially with the formula, even a slight deviation can cause a huge change in energy density.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, decades have passed, and countless human and material resources have been invested in solid fuel, yet a usable formula has not been developed. This is why solid-fuel missile development has not yet begun.

It's worth noting that as early as the First Five-Year Plan period, the country proposed developing solid-fuel missiles, and in 62, the first ignition test of a solid-fuel engine was completed, followed by the successful test of a 1400 mm diameter solid-fuel engine in 66...

While breakthroughs have been achieved in engine technology, there has been no development project for a solid-fuel missile, mainly due to the limitations of solid-fuel formulations and production processes.

The other party actually wants it?

If Xie Wei is sold, Li Rui might just fire him from the organization.

"What? Is there something wrong?"

Seeing Shewe's increasingly uncertain expression, Abdullah felt uneasy. The president had emphasized the necessity of obtaining the formula and production process for solid fuel propellants.

"General, if this is a new condition from your side, then I think the conditions we agreed on before must be nullified! The solid fuel propellant formula and process are not within the scope of the negotiation."

Xie Wei sighed.

Ultimately, it was because my previous offer wasn't aggressive enough, giving the other party unrealistic ideas, and now they dare to even think about getting involved in solid fuels.

"..."

Abdullah never expected the other party to react so strongly.

There's nothing to discuss?
It could even affect procurement deals that were already nearly finalized.

How to fulfill the important task entrusted to us by the president?
Seeing that Shevchenko was about to leave, Abdullah could not accept the consequences of the negotiations breaking down. Even if an agreement was reached, the Chinese delivery date would not be brought forward. He was afraid of unforeseen circumstances—the president had already deployed troops to the border and could take action against Homeni at any time.

When war breaks out, even agreed-upon arms purchases can change, not to mention those that haven't been agreed upon yet.

"Thanks, what price would we need to obtain it?"

"You want rocket production technology, which we can provide. We can also provide finished solid propellant, but the formula and production process are absolutely unacceptable!"

Xie Wei told them his bottom line, "And the rocket production technology will cost extra!"

Having said that, without giving Abdullah any chance to persuade him, Shewe got up and took his leave.

"General, if the solid fuel formula and process are not within the scope of negotiations, how can we fulfill His Excellency the President's instructions?"

After Shewe left, Abdullah summoned Yitzhak and his men, including Faisalman, to discuss countermeasures. After explaining the situation to them, Yitzhak asked with a worried expression.

If it's not handled well, the future is bleak.

"The formulation and production process for solid fuel propellants are only available to a very few countries worldwide, and they certainly won't sell them... Currently, our demand for solid fuel propellants is not urgent..."

After a moment's thought, Yitzhak concluded that since Xie Wei had made it clear that there was no room for negotiation, then there truly was no room for negotiation.

If this affects the procurement of long-range rocket artillery, prevents a large-scale improvement in the combat effectiveness of the troops, and hinders the expansion of the Republican Guard, then it will truly lose the president's trust.

"But the president insists we have to get it!"

Abdullah still takes Yitzhak's views very seriously.

"Only an additional $100 million in funding was allocated. Such funding requires not only the enemy's rocket artillery technology, but also solid fuel formulations and processes... Solid fuel is controlled by only a few technologically advanced major powers worldwide. This is not only related to smaller ballistic missiles, but also to air-to-air missiles, submarine-launched missiles, and so on..."

"Could it be that they want a higher price?"

"Fee the shaman asked."

In his view, the other party was doing this in order to get a higher price.

Yitzhak shook his head. "Although China desperately needs foreign exchange, if they could sell it, they wouldn't resort to such methods... especially Xie Wei. Otherwise, we would never have been able to buy rocket launchers with such a long range, not to mention they were willing to provide the technology..."

Abdullah agreed with Yitzhak's statement.

This left him unsure how to make a decision for a while.

"Use the additional funds from the president to acquire the rocket production technology, especially the engines. As for the rest, purchase their HLG-1 40mm sniper grenade launchers from them. I've looked into it, and their HLG-1 40mm sniper grenade launchers are actually support firepower designed for individual soldiers. They have a long range and high power. Equipped with their disposable rocket launchers, they can effectively make up for the lack of individual soldier skills among our rank-and-file soldiers and significantly improve combat effectiveness..."

Sniper grenade?
A man-portable gun?
Abdullah had not noticed these things before.

Whether it was because he forgot or for some other reason, Shewe did not try to sell the school's 40mm sniper grenade to Abdullah, or perhaps Yitzhak learned about it by chance while staying at the school.

"Equipping each infantry squad with a sniper grenade launcher would significantly boost their offensive firepower. Ordinary targets wouldn't even require mortar support, and this, combined with the procured individual rocket launchers..."

"This will make our mechanized forces even more powerful," Yitzhak said excitedly. "This is a new unit organization that the PLA is currently researching..."

Of course, this is Yitzhak's deduction.

As new weapons are deployed on the battlefield, the course of war will gradually change.

Although the guerrilla warfare in the Imperial Graveyard was not broadcast live by television, news of it was not kept out of reach.

With a keen sense of opportunity, Yitzhak discovered that if the rank-and-file troops were equipped with stronger firepower, even if the soldiers' guns could not fire accurately under the fierce fire coverage, the firepower intensity could be greatly increased by rocket launchers and sniper grenades.

This is also the direction of his current research.

"Such weapons exist? Why didn't they mention them?"

After hearing this, Abdullah instantly felt that Xie Wei was not a good person either. He hadn't even told him about this kind of individual weapon that could quickly improve the combat effectiveness of infantry units!
When Xie Wei returned to school, he did not tell Zhang Mingqiu, Liu Debao, or the others about Abdullah's purpose.

If the other party brings this up again during formal negotiations, then we will have no choice but to abandon this huge arms deal.

Xie Wei knew very well what could be sold and what couldn't.

"What time did you get back yesterday? What did Abdullah talk to you about?"

Sure enough, the first thing Zhang Mingqiu asked Xie Wei about yesterday was what happened yesterday.

"They want the solid fuel propellant formula and production process..."

"That can't be sold!"

Liu Debao grew anxious, fearing that Xie Wei would bring this up in negotiations as well. Although it would eventually be rejected by his superiors when submitted to them, it would ultimately be detrimental to Xie Wei's future.

Yu Lihua, standing to the side, also frowned as she looked at Xie Wei.

It's worth noting that Xie Wei had previously stated that he would sell nuclear weapons as long as a customer offered a sufficient price!

This alone has already made many military leaders very dissatisfied with Xie Wei, feeling that this young man is too audacious and doesn't even care about national security for money.

“I told them there was no room for negotiation.”

Xie Wei observed their reactions and spoke calmly.

Even if he knew that if they actually sold it, Iraq wouldn't be able to complete the domestic production process in just ten years given its current infrastructure; and with the outbreak of the Gulf War and international sanctions against Iraq, they would be even less likely to complete the domestic production process.

The country is not poor enough at present, and this may cause some disputes later.

"Iraq doesn't have ballistic missile technology, so what would they need the formula and process for solid fuel?"

Yuli Hua looked puzzled.

He was genuinely puzzled as to why Iraq insisted on solid fuel propellants. Even if given the technology, Iraq's industrial base and technological reserves would make it difficult to produce qualified solid fuel. A country that can't even produce its own explosives, why would it want solid fuel propellants?
What a fuss!

"Iraq reached a nuclear agreement with France."

Xie Wei said it casually, without going into details.

Next year, Saddam Hussein's "Operation Babylon" will destroy the nuclear facility on the outskirts of Baghdad, after which Saddam will never be able to develop nuclear weapons again.

This is one of the reasons why Xie Wei is unwilling to talk about solid fuel propellants.

"Does that mean we can ask for even higher prices?"

Liu Debao looked excited, but when he saw You Lihua's unfriendly gaze, he hurriedly and awkwardly explained, "I was just saying."

"They can't even develop liquid-fueled missiles, yet they want to play with solid-fueled ones! Isn't there a single sensible person in Iraq?"

Zhang Mingqiu was stunned.

Even those unfamiliar with the technology understand how challenging it is to develop missiles using solid fuel propellants.

China has long wanted to develop road-mobile launched intercontinental ballistic missiles to enhance its nuclear counterattack capability, but so far, there are no related projects.

"Same as always, today's formal negotiations will be led by you..."

Yuli Hua didn't want to listen to their nonsense.

What was said in jest might have been taken seriously by the listener. If one of their random remarks gave Xie Wei an unrealistic idea and he started thinking about selling this stuff again, that wouldn't do.

Abdullah and his entourage arrived at the school more than ten minutes early.

The two sides went directly into the negotiation room.

"Since you are unwilling to provide the solid fuel formula and production process, we need to purchase more rockets as a precaution... Therefore, the price of the rockets needs to be reduced further... At the same time, we need to acquire the capability to assemble the rockets..."

Abdullah got straight to the point.

Since Xie Wei did not agree to the sale, he did not dwell on it and made a concession directly.

"General, at a price of $4.8, we're barely making any profit, and that's with your large-scale purchase..."

Xie Wei was unwilling to budge an inch, saying, "We can provide the assembly technology, and we can also provide core components at cost price according to your needs."

These are the conditions that were conceded last night.

Price reduction?

Not at all.

"Thank you. While your rocket launchers have a long range, their accuracy is rather poor. A salvo is needed to cover the target area and achieve the goal of annihilating the enemy..."

Yitzhak spoke.

He is not good at negotiating.

However, since the task assigned by the president was already impossible to complete, he naturally hoped to make up for it in other ways.

The procurement budget provided by the president, plus additional funding, totaled only $5 million. He also hoped to acquire more weapons and equipment from the other party to enhance the overall strength of the troops.

The HLG-1 40mm sniper grenade launcher, with a range of up to 600 meters and an accuracy within 2 meters, is the best choice for a single-soldier weapon.

Considering that Xie Wei hadn't even given an introduction, and fearing that he might ask for an exorbitant price, the group discussed and decided to use business negotiations in this area to break the deadlock after the long-range rocket artillery negotiations had stalled.

"Lieutenant Colonel, rocket artillery relies on saturation firepower to annihilate the enemy. If higher precision is required, you will have to seek to acquire missiles!"

Liu Debao was unhappy.

I hadn't planned to say anything, but the other side brought up the accuracy of rocket artillery.

"Missiles with the same range, though more accurate, cost at least five times as much as rockets!"

He only mentioned the range, without mentioning the weight of the warhead at all.

"The combined fire of rockets has taken a huge toll..."

Undeterred by the rebuttal, Yitzhak retorted, "Regarding the rocket artillery system, although you accepted the price reduction, the cancellation of the accompanying ammunition means there was essentially no price reduction..."

"But we've lowered the price of our rockets, from $6 to $4.8 per unit. This fully demonstrates our sincerity..."

The two sides immediately started arguing fiercely.

The negotiations were on the verge of reaching a stalemate and could not proceed.

Abdullah couldn't accept this outcome. He slammed his hand on the table, and after the two sides stopped arguing, he sighed silently and turned to Xie Wei: "I heard you have an infantry gun that can be equipped by a single soldier?"

"..."

Zhang Mingqiu and the others looked at Xie Wei.

Xie Wei was embarrassed.

Really.

Because the other party's first transaction went so smoothly surprised him, he completely forgot about the sniper grenade that he had suggested...

It's not up to standard!

"Would you be willing to sell this type of man-portable gun? And at what price?"

Abdullah made a sharp turn, catching Liu Debao and the others off guard.

“General, the reason we didn’t introduce it to you before wasn’t because we weren’t willing to sell, but because we hadn’t resolved some technical defects… Now those defects have been resolved, and if you need it, we can supply it to you at cost price of $6000…”

Xie Wei did not hesitate to raise the unit price by 50%.

The other party is rich!
"In that case, in addition to the 90 long-range rocket artillery systems we discussed earlier, the ammunition supply will be increased to 6000 rounds; furthermore, you will be provided with 1200 individual guns and related supporting ammunition, bringing the total contract value to $5 million!"

Abdullah really didn't want to continue this entanglement.

The sooner the agreement is reached, the greater the credit.

Ideally, these weapons purchased in China should be put into service with the war launched by the president. As long as they demonstrate their power, it will be a huge achievement for him.

5 billion!
It's still the US dollar!

Yulihua and the others' hearts pounded.

Didn't they say before that it was only a little over 300 million, at most no more than 400 million US dollars?

Although it's only an extra $100 million, the effect is completely different.

accept!

We must accept it!

The sniper grenade launcher previously sold for $4800, with each round of ammunition costing only $48. Even if each grenade launcher was equipped with 200 rounds of ammunition, 1200 launchers would only amount to 24 rounds of ammunition, which would only be $1152 million at the original price.

Even with the price of 1200 sniper grenades at 576 million, the total cost is only 1752 million US dollars.

According to Xie Wei's offer, which is 50% higher, the price is US$2592 million.

It's not just about making money; producing these sniper grenades and their accompanying ammunition can also keep several factories operating at full capacity!
Buying $5 million worth of rocket launchers and rockets, and giving away $2600 million worth of individual soldier weapons, is not something to be ashamed of.

"Thank you. If you still can't accept these conditions, I think we can't continue this discussion. Even if someone else were to negotiate with you, they wouldn't accept conditions that are more demanding than these... At your price, if we can get some more weapons to enhance the combat effectiveness of our troops, it would be a good thing for both sides."

Seeing that Xie Wei remained silent, Abdul issued an ultimatum.

He feared that things might change if he waited too long.

(End of this chapter)